Crabby Appleton was formed in 1969 when the members of Stonehenge replaced their lead singer and guitarist with Michael Fennelly. Fennelly came from the California group, The Millennium. Crabby Appleton was the name of a villain in the Tom Terrific cartoon which aired during the Captain Kangaroo Show in the '50s and '60s. Their debut album had success with the single, "Go Back," which peaked at number 36 in June 1970 after five weeks on the charts. The group's second album, Rotten to the Core, found the band stretching out in different directions, but it failed to connect with its intended audience, and the band decided to break up. The band opened for the Doors, Sly and the Family Stone, Three Dog Night, The Guess Who, ABBA, Jethro Tull and appeared on American Bandstand.

Fennelly moved to England and released two solo albums, Lane Changer, and Stranger's Bed but had no commercial success. Fennelly also recorded with Steely Dan, he sings the high harmony on "The Boston Rag" from Countdown to Ecstasy. He continued writing songs and performing with bands through the late 1980s, but didn't secure a record deal. He retired in 1989 and moved to Oregon, where he raises funds for progressive non-profit organizations but is currently working with Sundazed Records on a collection of unreleased material. Phil Jones went on to work with Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison, Joe Walsh, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Cracker, and many others. For the last 10 years, Phil has been playing drums with the Waddy Wachtel Band. Felix "Flaco" Falcon went on to play percussion for Joe Cocker and Dave Mason.